Sunday 8 January 1978 Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach
(Irish Prime Minister), called for a British declaration of intent
to withdraw from Northern Ireland. The statement was supported
by many in the Nationalist community in Northern Ireland.

Wednesday 11 January 1978 The Fair Employment Agency
(FEA) issued a report which indicated that the Catholic community
experienced a higher level of unemployment than the Protestant
community. In particular it pointed to the fact that Catholic
men were two and a half times more likely to be unemployed than
Protestant men.

Friday 13 January 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) carried out a bomb attack on the Guildhall in Derry causing
serious damage. [The building had reopened seven months earlier
following damage in a fire bomb attack in July 1972.]

Monday 16 January 1978 Tomás Ó Fiaich,
then Catholic Primate of Ireland, was quoted in the Irish Press
as saying: "I believe the British should withdraw from Ireland.
I think that it is the only thing that will get things moving."
The comments drew a lot of criticism including from Ian Paisley,
then leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), who called
Ó Fiaich "the IRA's bishop from Crossmaglen".

Wednesday 18 January 1978European Court Decision on Treatment of Internees The European Court of Human
Rights made its ruling on the case of alleged ill-treatment of
internees during 1971. The case had been initially referred to
the European Commission by the Irish government on 10 March 1976.
On 2 September 1976 the European Commission on Human Rights decided
that Britain had to answer a case of ill-treatment of internees
and referred the matter to the European Court of Human Rights.
The Commission found that the interrogation techniques did involve
a breach of the Convention on Human Rights because they not only
involved inhuman and degrading treatment but also torture. The
European Court of Human Rights however decided that the Commission
was wrong to use the word 'torture' but did agree that the internees
had been subjected to 'inhuman and degrading treatment'.

Tuesday 7 February 1978 The Social Democratic and
Labour Party (SDLP) was reported in the Irish Times as
stating that it is "the British dimension which is the obstacle
keeping us away from a lasting solution".

Wednesday 8 February 1978 William Gordon (39), then
a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR), and Lesley Gordon
(10), his daughter, were killed by a booby-trap bomb attached
to a car outside their home in Maghera, County Derry, by the Irish
Republican Army (IRA).

Wednesday 15 February 1978 John Hume, then deputy leader
of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), said that the
British government should consider a third option in its search
for a political solution to the conflict in Northern Ireland.
[The first option, of maintaining the status quo or further integration
with Britain, was one which Nationalists believed the government
had been following, and the second option was withdrawal from
Northern Ireland which was being advocated by many Nationalists.]
The third option was an "agreed Ireland" where the
British government would declare that its objective was to bring
the two main traditions in Ireland together in reconciliation
and agreement.

Friday 17 February 1978La Mon Restaurant Bombing Twelve people, all Protestant civilians, were killed and 23 badly injured when an incendiary bomb exploded at the restaurant of the La Mon House Hotel, Gransha, near Belfast. The bomb had been planted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA). Canisters of petrol had been attached to a bomb which was left on a window-sill of the restaurant. An inadequate warning had been given and the hotel was being cleared when the bomb exploded. Many of those killed were burnt to death. Seven of the dead were women. There were three married couples among the dead. All those who died were attending the annual dinner-dance of the Irish Collie Club. A British soldier was killed in a helicopter crash in County Armagh. [The IRA claimed to have shot down the helicopter. For many years the British Army denied the claim before finally acknowledging that the IRA had indeed caused the crash.]

Saturday 18 February 1978 The Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) carried out a series of arrests in connection with the La
Mon bombing.

Saturday 25 February 1978 The Vanguard Unionist Progressive
Party (VUPP) was dissolved as a political party and most of the
party's members joined the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). According
to the Standing Committee of Irish Catholic Bishops conference
the vast majority of Irish people wanted the conflict in Northern
Ireland to end. Gerry Adams, then Vice-President of Sinn Féin
(SF), was charged with membership of the Irish Republican Army
(IRA). [On 6 September 1978 Adams was freed when the Judge hearing
the case ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that
he was a member of the IRA.]

Friday 3 March 1978 A British soldier and a Protestant
civilian searcher were both killed in an Irish Republican Army
(IRA) gun attack on a British Army pedestrian checkpoint in Donegall
Street, Belfast.

Monday 6 March 1978 The Ulster Unionist Party
(UUP) refused to consider talks with Ian Paisley, then leader
of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), and Ernest Baird, then
leader of the United Ulster Unionist Movement (UUUM).

Tuesday 7 March 1978
[ Ill-treatment of detainees by police; Law Order. ]

Wednesday 8 March 1978 Thomas Trainor (29), a member
of the Irish National Liberation Army (INLA), and Denis Kelly
(31), a Catholic civilian, were shot dead by the Red Hand Commando (RHC) in Portadown, County Armagh. [The RHC was a Loyalist paramilitary
group with links to the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF).]

Friday 17 March 1978 David Jones (23), a British
soldier, was shot dead by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) during
a gun battle in a field near Maghera, County Derry. Jones had
been undercover at the time. Francis Hughes, then a member of
the IRA, was arrested following the incident.

Sunday 26 March 1978 At the Irish Republican Army
(IRA) annual Easter Rising commemorations a number of speakers
state that the campaign in Northern Ireland would be intensified.

Wednesday 5 April 1978
[ Ill-treatment of detainees by police; Law Order. ]

Friday 7 April 1978 Airey Neave, then Conservative
party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, said that power-sharing
no longer represented practical politics. James Callaghan, then
British Prime Minister, held a meeting with Jack Lynch, then Taoiseach
(Irish Prime Minister), at the European Community summit at Copenhagen.
[The talks helped to ease relationships between the British and
Irish governments.]

Monday 17 April 1978
[ Ill-treatment of detainees by police; Law Order. ]

Tuesday 18 April 1978
[ Ill-treatment of detainees by police; Law Order. ]

Wednesday 19 April 1978 James Callaghan, then British
Prime Minister, announced that legislation would be brought forward
to increase the number of Members of Parliament (MPs) who represented
Northern Ireland at Westminster from 12 to between 16 and 18.
[A Bill was passed at parliament on 28 November 1978 which increased
the representation to 17 seats.]

Sunday 7 May 1978 John Collins (18), a Catholic
civilian, was shot dead by the British Army while he was travelling
in a stolen car outside Andersonstown Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) base, Belfast. [Over the years a number of, mainly Catholic,
teenagers were shot dead while 'joy-riding' in stolen cars in
West Belfast.]

Thursday 25 May 1978 Brian McKinney and John McClory, both Catholic civilians, were abducted by the Irish Republican Army (IRA) and 'dissapeared'. [Their bodies were recovered on 29 June 1999.]

Thursday 1 June 1978 David Cook, then a member
of the Alliance Party (APNI), became the first non-Unionist Lord
Mayor of Belfast. Cook secured this post because of a dispute
between Unionist councillors. [It was not until 1997 that a Catholic
became Lord Mayor of Belfast.] Roy Mason, then Secretary of State
for Northern Ireland, held talks with Irish ministers in Dublin.

Monday 5 June 1978 Roy Mason, then Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland, asked Amnesty International to
delay publication of a report it had written into alleged ill-treatment
of detainees at Castlereagh detention centre. [The report was
published on 13 June 1978.]

Tuesday 13 June 1978Amnesty International Report In a report Amnesty International claimed that people held at Castlereagh Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) detention centre on the outskirts of Belfast had been ill-treated.
Kenneth Newman, then Chief Constable of the RUC, rejected the
claims. [Later on Roy Mason, then Secretary of State for Northern
Ireland, promised an inquiry into the allegations.]

Friday 16 June 1978 Kevin Dyer (26), a Catholic
civilian, was found beaten to death on a rubbish tip at Glencairn
Road, Belfast. He had been killed by Loyalists.

Saturday 17 June 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) carried out a gun attack on an Royal Ulster Constabulary
(RUC) patrol car near Crossmaglen, County Armagh. One officer,
Hugh McConnell (32), was killed at the scene and a second officer,
William Turbitt (42), was kidnapped. [A Catholic priest was kidnapped
the following day in retaliation but was later released. On 10
July 1978 the body of Officer Turbitt was discovered. In December
1978 three RUC officers were charged with kidnapping the Catholic
priest. The same officers were also charged, along with two additional
officers, of killing a Catholic shopkeeper in Ahoghill on 19 April
1977.] A Catholic civilian was found beaten to death on a rubbish tip in Belfast. He had been killed by Loyalists.

Sunday 18 June 1978 Hugh Murphy, then a Catholic
priest was kidnapped in retaliation for the abduction of a Royal
Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officer the day before, 17 June 1978.
The kidnappers issued a statement saying that they would return
the priest in the same condition as the RUC officer is returned.
A number of Protestant ministers appealed for the priest to be
released and he was subsequently returned unharmed. [On 10 July
1978 the body of Officer Turbitt was discovered. In December
1978 three RUC officers were charged with kidnapping the Catholic
priest. The same officers were also charged, along with two additional
officers, of killing a Catholic shopkeeper in Ahoghill on 19 April
1977.]

Monday 19 June 1978 Margaret Thatcher, then leader
of the Conservative Party, paid a visit to Northern Ireland.

Wednesday 21 June 1978 Three members of the Irish
Republican Army (IRA) and a passing Protestant civilian were shot
dead by undercover members of the British Army during an attempted
bomb attack on a Post Office depot, Ballysillan Road, Belfast.
[ De Lorean; Employment. ]

Tuesday 11 July 1978 John Boyle (16), a Catholic
teenager, was shot dead by undercover members of the British Army
near an Irish Republican Army (IRA) arms dump in Dunloy, County
Antrim. Boyle had earlier found the dump and his family had reported the matter
to the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC). [The RUC,
together with the British Army, took the decision to monitor the
dump in the hope that members of the IRA would return to it.
Boyle's curiosity must have taken him back unsuspectingly to the
dump.]

Thursday 13 July 1978
[ De Lorean; Employment. ]

Monday 17 July 1978
[ De Lorean; Employment. ]

Wednesday 19 July 1978
[ De Lorean; Employment. ]

Sunday 30 July 1978 Tomás Ó Fiaich,
Catholic Primate of Ireland, paid a visit to Republican prisoners
in the Maze Prison. The prisoners were taking part in the 'blanket
protest'. [Over 300 Republican prisoners were refusing to wear
prison clothes or follow normal prison regulations in an attempt
to secure a return of special category status.]

Tuesday 1 August 1978 Tomás Ó Fiaich,
Catholic Primate of Ireland, who had paid a visit to Republican
prisoners in the Maze Prison on 30 July 1978, issued a statement
saying that the prisoners engaged in the 'blanket protest' where
living in 'inhuman' conditions. [At this stage of the 'blanket
protest' over 300 Republican prisoners were refusing to wear prison
clothes or follow normal prison regulations. This protest was
an attempt to secure a return of special category status for people
convicted of politically motivated crimes.]
[ Hunger Strike. ]

2 August 1978 Roy Mason, then Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland, announced that a sports car factory
would be built in West Belfast and would mean 2,000 new jobs.
The new factory was seen as a breakthrough in securing American
investment in Northern Ireland. [However the DeLorean factory
required a British investment of £56 million out of a total
of £65 million. At the time a number of commentators expressed
reservations about the potential success of the venture and indeed
the business did fail with the loss of substantial public funds.]

Wednesday 9 August 1978
[ Victims. ]

Monday 14 August 1978 The Daily Mirror,
a British national newspaper, announced its support for a British
withdrawal from Northern Ireland.
[ Law Order. ]

Sunday 27 August 1978Civil Rights March Approximately 10,000 people took part in a march from Coalisland to Dungannon, County Tyrone, to commemorate the first civil rights march 10 years earlier.

Wednesday 6 September 1978Adams Cleared of IRA Membership Gerry Adams, then Vice-President
of Sinn Féin (SF), was cleared of a charge of membership
of the Irish Republican Army (IRA) when the Judge hearing the
case ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove that
he was a member of the organisation.

Friday 8 September 1978
[ Victims. ]

Thursday 21 September 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) carried out a bomb attack on Eglinton airfield, County Derry.
The terminal building, two aircraft hangers, and four planes
were destroyed in the attack.

Friday 22 September 1978 Roy Mason, then Secretary
of State for Northern Ireland, and Airey Neave, then Conservative
Party spokesperson on Northern Ireland, issued statements rebuffing
call in Britain for a British withdrawal from Northern Ireland.
[ Hunger Strike. ]

Sunday 24 September 1978 Ian Paisley, then leader
of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), held a religious service
in Dublin, at the Mansion House, for the first time.

Thursday 28 September 1978 Joshua Eilberg, then a Democrat
Congressman, and Hamilton Fish, then a Republican Congressman,
paid a five day visit to Northern Ireland. The two men later
argued that the United States of America (USA) should play a part
in finding a political settlement in the region.

Thursday 5 October 1978 The three leaders of the
Peace People, Betty Williams, Mairead Corrigan, and Ciaran McKeown,
announced that they intended to step down from the organisation.

Sunday 8 October 1978 A number of groups in Derry,
including Sinn Féin (SF), held a march to commemorate the
10th anniversary of the 5 October 1968 civil rights march. The
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) staged a counter demonstration
attended by Loyalists and led by Ian Paisley. Trouble developed
and 67 Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) officers were injured in
clashes with Loyalists. Two RUC officers were also injured in
confrontations with Republicans.

Thursday 12 October 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) planted a bomb on the Belfast to Dublin train and one woman
was killed and two others injured when it exploded without adequate
warning.

Saturday 14 October 1978 The Democratic Unionist Party
(DUP) organised another march in Derry to protest against the
march in the city on the previous Sunday, 8 October 1978. There
were clashes between Loyalists and Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)
officers which resulted in 32 policemen being injured and there
was also damage to property in the city.

Thursday 2 November 1978 [A British Army intelligence document, 'Northern Ireland: Future
Terrorist Trends', was uncovered. The document contained an
assessment of the capacity of the Irish Republican Army (IRA).
It noted that the calibre of members was high and that the new
'cell structure' that the Active Service Units (ASUs) had adopted
made them less vulnerable to informers.]

Saturday 4 November 1978 The Social Democratic and
Labour Party (SDLP) annual conference voted that British withdrawal
was 'desirable and inevitable'. The party also called for fresh
talks between the British and Irish governments and representatives
of the two communities in Northern Ireland.

Monday 6 November 1978
[ Political Developments; Segregation. ]

Tuesday 14 November 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) carried out a number of bomb attacks in towns across Northern
Ireland. Serious damage was caused in attacks in Armagh, Belfast,
Castlederg, Cookstown, Derry and Enniskillen. Thirty-seven people
were injured in the attacks. [This series of bomb attacks represented
a renewed bombing campaign and over 50 bombs were exploded in
the following week.]

Sunday 26 November 1978 Albert Miles, then Deputy
Governor of Crumlin Road Prison, was shot dead by the Irish Republican
Army (IRA) outside his home in Evelyn Gardens, Belfast. [This
was one of a series of attacks on prison officers.]

Tuesday 28 November 1978Increase in Number of MPs A Bill was passed in the House of Commons to increase the number of Northern Ireland Members of Parliament (MPs) at Westminster. The number was increase from 12 to 17 seats.

Thursday 30 November 1978 The Irish Republican Army
(IRA) carried out a number of bomb and fire-bomb attacks in 14
towns and villages across Northern Ireland. The IRA issued a statement admitting the attacks and warning that it was
preparing for a 'long war'.

Notes
Each entry contains information, where relevant, on the following topic areas:

Major security incidents

Political developments

Policy initiatives

Economic matters

Other relevant items
Information contained within square brackets [ ] may contain commentary or information that only became publicly available at a later date. Any piece of information which is followed by a question mark in parenthesis (?) is a best estimate while awaiting an update.